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Journey with Jake is a weekly podcast about adventure and how we can be inspired to overcome life's challenges through our adventures. We share stories and find out why these experiences have unique meaning to each of us. Journey with Jake taps into those thrilling moments of being on top through our adventures . This podcast will inform you and also encourage you by showing we can all overcome our challenges along the way. We will go from endurance running, rock climbing, hunting, surfing and everything in between. All while life's lessons are being learned and put into action.
Want to be a guest on Journey with Jake? Send Jake Bushman a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake
203 Episodes
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#192 - Some moments feel like they’re nudging us forward. Stephen Seidel’s life is full of those nudges: a favorite Eagles player on the flight to a funeral, a foggy window shaped like an eagle on the day of a tribute, a childhood hero literally saving him from choking. We unpack how he alchemized those signs, along with profound loss, into a mission centered on connection, courage, and story. Stephen grew up a sports-obsessed kid in Philly, short but scrappy, learning early how shared ritua...
#191 - What if your brain could learn to love better? We sat down with Dr. David Helfand—a therapist with a background in neuroscience—to unpack how neuroplasticity, meditation, and focused couples work can turn recurring fights into lasting repair. From breathwork that calms a spiraling argument to thought logs that retrain pessimism, David shows how small, repeatable practices change both your nervous system and your connection. We dig into why so many “individual” problems live inside rel...
#190 - What if you could trade flat maps and footnotes for sunrise on Sinai and sea spray in your face as you approach a harbor Paul once saw? That’s the world filmmaker Craig Dehut invites us into—where sacred places become cinematic classrooms and faith is strengthened by seeing. Craig shares how Appian Media grew from a coffee-shop idea to a nonprofit producing free, high-quality Bible documentaries viewed more than 20 million times in over 160 countries. We dig into the nuts and bolts: s...
#189 - A cone head at baggage claim. A prank that makes a whole terminal laugh. And beneath the costumes and skits, a marriage held together by faith, service, and a fierce tenderness forged in grief. We sit down with Troy and Melinda Hicks—Hicks in the Wild—to explore how everyday adventure can coexist with loss and how playful creativity becomes a lifeline. Their love story starts in college, survives a mission and distance, and grows into a partnership where roles fit like puzzle pieces: ...
#188 - What happens when a comedian with a camera trades stage lights for sunrise on a dirt road and points his vehicle toward Panama? I sat down with author and traveler Matt Savino to unpack a seven-month run along the Pan American Highway that never reached South America yet somehow delivered everything he was chasing: humor in the chaos, humanity at the barricades, and a clear-eyed love for places most maps flatten. Matt takes us from Baja’s empty beaches and Dr. Seuss–worthy boojum fore...
#187 - A childhood marked by chaos. A career built on service. And a second act shaped by faith, language, and a blank page. Jake sits down with Ken Webb to trace a life that refuses to settle for mere existence—from praying his way through a turbulent home to leading across Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond. Ken opens up about how his grandparents’ steady love and a lived-in faith helped him endure abuse and instability, and how those early lessons informed three decades in the Army Res...
#186 - What if the deepest calm you’ve ever felt could follow you out of the water and into everyday life? That’s the spark of our conversation with Kerry Ferguson, founder of Yoga Tree, whose path from free diving to yoga reveals how breath, mindfulness, and compassion can reshape how we move through the world. We trace Kerry's arc from early wellness choices and Outward Bound grit to anatomy labs, massage rooms, and a turning point in the Bahamas where breath control under pressure became ...
#185 - Before longboards hit storefronts and GoPros hit helmets, Jack Smith and two friends pointed a 1969 Firebird toward the horizon and skated into history. Jack Smith talks about how a simple leapfrog relay turned a wild idea into the first recorded skateboard crossing of the United States—and how that journey shaped everything that came after. We trace the arc from clay “crumble” wheels to first‑gen urethane and on to the big trucks and 70mm wheels that made 1980s distance skating faste...
#184 - What does it take to conquer the American Ninja Warrior course? For Colton Skuster, the journey began as a 10-year-old jumping over exercise balls in his basement, dreaming of someday tackling those iconic obstacles himself. At just 20 years old, Colton has already competed in three seasons of American Ninja Warrior, reaching the National Finals in Las Vegas and proving himself against competitors twice his age. His path wasn't straightforward – from training in a monkey costume to bu...
#183 - Jamie Edwards returns to Journey with Jake with tales from the top of the world, having ventured to the Arctic with her 21-year-old daughter and 82-year-old stepfather. Their expedition through the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard reveals a landscape where polar bears roam distant shores and massive glaciers calve with thunderous crashes that signal our changing climate. Jamie vividly describes the unique challenges and thrills of Arctic exploration aboard the purpose-built Ultramari...
#182 - Two simple questions changed everything for Bernard "Chalky" White. Growing up under the shadow of an abusive father who regularly beat both him and his mother, Chalky developed a survival mechanism that unfortunately led him to abandon his education completely by age 13. With zero qualifications at 16, he joined the police cadets and eventually became a London "Bobby," though his heart was never truly in law enforcement. During his nine-year police career, Chalky witnessed unspeakabl...
#181 - Christian Ray Flores' life reads like an epic novel - a childhood marked by upheaval across continents, an improbable rise to pop stardom in Russia, and a profound transformation into a purposeful coach helping others discover their untapped potential. Growing up amid political chaos, Christian experienced firsthand what most of us only read about in history books. By age seven, he had lived through a military coup in Chile that landed his father in a concentration camp, experienced r...
#180 - Have you ever wondered what happens when a deep love for Ireland, masterful storytelling, and biblical foundations merge? That's exactly what unfolds in this captivating conversation with John Leonard, the creative mind behind the Wayfinder series – a fantasy adventure saga that bridges ancient myths with biblical narratives. Growing up in rural Colorado as the eldest of four siblings, John shares how his close relationship with his brother shaped his early years through sports and fr...
#179 - Lesa Burgess never imagined that falling in love with a basketball player would lead her across nine countries over eleven years, building a family of seven while navigating cultural labyrinths few Americans ever experience. Her memoir "Behind the Bench" pulls back the curtain on what looks like a glamorous life to reveal something far more compelling—a story of resilience, adaptation, and finding yourself when everything familiar has been left behind. From giving birth in Turkey with...
#178 - The road to redemption isn't always straight, and nobody knows this better than Garr Russell. From sitting in a jail cell in fifth grade to building a nationwide RV rental franchise with 70 locations, Garr's journey proves that our darkest chapters can become the foundation for something beautiful. After his parents' divorce set him on a troubled path, Garr spiraled through expulsion, dropping out, and eventually dealing drugs. Rock bottom came with multiple arrests, but transformatio...
#177 - What happens when childhood play transforms into serious sport? In this eye-opening conversation, we saddle up with Kht Shetty, a 20-year-old Polish hobby horse competitor and coach who's redefining what it means to "horse around." Hobby horsing—a sport where participants jump obstacles up to 1.3 meters high while carrying handcrafted stick horses—combines athletic prowess, creative craftsmanship, and equestrian rules into something truly unique. Shetty walks us through this fascinati...
#176 - What does it take to sail around the world? For Alison Gieschen, it's required facing her worst fears while clinging to a dream she's had since childhood. From the moment she and her husband Dan met at a sailboat race and discovered their shared ambition to circumnavigate the globe, their path was set – though hardly smooth sailing. Alison's journey began far from any ocean, on a 100-acre farm in upstate New York where she developed her first great passion: horses. Rising to elite com...
Bonus 11 - Sexual assault fundamentally changes lives, but it doesn't have to define them. In this powerful bonus episode, Amanda Villarini talks about the night that altered her path forever, when what began as a casual gathering with friends ended in betrayal and trauma. Amanda's story exposes the painful reality that sometimes our most devastating wounds come from those we trust. With remarkable courage, she walks us through not only the assault itself, but the complicated aftermath – fro...
#175 - When Rodney Carpentier first laced up his police patrol boots to tackle a Catskill mountain, he had no idea he was beginning a transformative six-year odyssey that would shape not only his physical resilience but his creative future. Sharing his remarkable journey from unprepared novice to accomplished hiker who conquered all 35 peaks of the challenging Catskills 3500, Rodney reveals how the mountains became his sanctuary during life's most difficult moments. The trail wasn't just phy...
#174 - What does redemption look like at 72 years old? For Rand Timmerman, it meant lacing up his hiking boots and tackling the Appalachian Trail's 2,190 miles alongside his grieving brother—a journey that would test his newfound sobriety, physical limits, and spiritual foundation. Rand's path to that trailhead was anything but straight. Growing up in poverty after his father contracted polio, he discovered alcohol at 13 and was immediately transformed in his own mind from a skinny teenager ...
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